Transforming waterfront: from urban renewal to resilient development. A case study of Wuhan, China
Abstract
Creating more resilient and livable waterfront cities is a critical element of planning for our future. This paper focuses on the relationship of the cities with their waterfronts. It presents a case study of Wuhan – a Chinese metropolis, where waterfronts play an important role in its urban planning policy. It attempts to investigate the mechanism of waterfront transformation, and to find out which strategies to adapt and what resilience means in terms of urban waterfronts in a rapidly changing city. This article examines some representative urban projects on the waterfront and summarizes spatial models applied on the waterfront with distinct policies. Finally, it establishes a framework of understanding waterfronts on two crucial dimensions: temporal dimension and spatial dimension. It demonstrates that an urban waterfront should be more correctly envisaged as a network of places, functions, additions and hinges between the city and its water environment.
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